JPH11129593A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate a waste of one printing sheet during printing in the case of lack of an ink ribbon in the middle of the printing. SOLUTION: An end detecting mark is provided at a position near a terminating end of an ink ribbon contained in an ink ribbon cassette, and a near end detecting mark is provided before corresponding to a printing amount on one screen or more of a printing sheet at the position near the end. And, at the time of printing, a CPU 10 drives a head by a head driver 30 while conveying the sheet by a sheet conveyor 32, and adheres ink of the ribbon to the sheet to print it. When the near end detecting mark is detected by an end mark detector 34, the CPU 10 once returns to send the sheet to a print starting position by the conveyor 32, and resumes the printing at the beginning of the sheet.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printing apparatus such as a so-called photo printer which captures an image output from an image output device such as a video camera or a digital still camera and prints out the image.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a printing apparatus called a video printer or the like has been known. This captures images from image output devices such as video cameras and digital still cameras,
It is converted into print data and printed on a print medium (print paper).

In such a printing apparatus, while printing the ink ribbon and the printing paper relatively to each other, an ink at an arbitrary position of the ink ribbon is controlled by a head to make the ink adhere to the printing paper to perform an arbitrary printing. It has become. In this case, a silver tape or a zebra-like tape in which silver and black are alternately arranged is provided at the end of the ink ribbon, and the end of the ink ribbon is detected by detecting the tape by light reflection or the like. I have. Then, in response to the detection of the end, the user replaces the ink ribbon with a new one so that printing can be continued.

[0004]

Such continuous printing is based on the premise that the ink ribbon can be replaced while holding the printing paper. However, there are printing apparatuses, such as line printers, which cannot always hold the printing paper when exchanging the ink ribbon. In such a printing apparatus, even if the ink ribbon runs out during printing, it is impossible to replace the ink ribbon and continue printing, so that one print sheet during printing is wasted. There was a problem.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a printing apparatus, such as a line printer, which cannot always hold a print sheet when exchanging an ink ribbon, when the ink ribbon runs out during printing. The purpose is to avoid wasting one of the printing sheets.

[0006]

Means of the present invention are as follows. The printing apparatus controls the head at an arbitrary position on the ink ribbon and causes the ink to adhere to the sheet while performing relative printing on the ink ribbon and the printing paper, thereby performing any printing. In the ink ribbon cassette, an end detection mark is provided at a position near the end of the ink ribbon, and a near-end detection mark is provided a certain amount before the end vicinity position. The mark detection means detects a near-end detection mark on the ink ribbon during printing. Print control means, when the mark detection means detects the near-end detection mark of the ink ribbon,
The printing paper is returned to the printing start position, and the printing is restarted from the first printing on the printing paper.

The operation of the means of the present invention is as follows. When the near-end detection mark on the ink ribbon is detected by the mark detection unit during printing, the print control unit returns the printing paper to the printing start position and starts over from the first printing on the printing paper. Therefore, when the ink ribbon runs out during printing, it is possible to avoid wasting one printing sheet during printing.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. [First Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a printing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In the drawing, reference numeral 10 denotes a control unit for controlling the entire printing apparatus. C
PU. Reference numeral 12 denotes an input device such as a keyboard.
Reference numeral 4 denotes a display device such as a liquid crystal display, and 16 denotes a printing unit such as a printer.

Reference numeral 18 denotes a storage device such as a hard disk or a ROM, and reference numeral 20 denotes a RAM. These storage devices 18
The RAM and the RAM 20 are those in which the processing programs and data of the apparatus executed by the CPU 10 are stored in advance.
The programs and data stored in the storage unit 20 may be read from a storage medium 22 such as a floppy disk or an optical (magnetic) disk, or may be transmitted via a communication line (wired or wireless) 24 for data transmission / reception with the outside. The information may be received from another connected device and stored.

Reference numeral 26 denotes a video input / output control unit which controls input / output of video signals to / from an image output device such as a video deck or a video camera via a video input / output terminal 28. The given video signal is converted into digital image data by the video input / output control unit 26, developed in the RAM 20 as a print buffer, and printed out by the printing unit 16.

The printing unit 16 includes a head driving unit 30 for moving up / down a head on which an ink ribbon cassette is mounted, feeding an ink ribbon, and the like, and a paper conveying unit for driving a motor for conveying printing paper. 32, and an end mark detection unit 34 for detecting an end mark provided on the ink ribbon.

FIG. 2A shows an ink ribbon cassette 36.
FIGS. 4B and 4C are a plan view and a side view of the ink ribbon 38 accommodated therein. FIGS.

That is, the ink ribbon 38 is formed by thermally transferring an ink layer 38B provided on the tape surface 38A to printing paper by a line-type thermal head (not shown). It is wound from the supply side 36A of 36 toward the winding side 36B. In the vicinity of the end of the ink ribbon 38, an end detection mark 40 is provided, and a near-end detection mark 42 is provided on the ink ribbon 38, leaving an area where one screen, that is, one or more printing sheets, can be printed. These marks 40 and 42 are made of, for example, a silver reflective tape stuck on the ink layer 38B. The end detection mark 40 is designed to be disposed at a position where the end detection mark 40 can be seen through an opening 36C provided in the ink ribbon cassette 36 in a state where the ink ribbon 38 is completely wound up.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the printing apparatus. The ink ribbon cassette 36 is mounted so that the line head block 44 is located on the side of the tape surface 38A of the ink ribbon.
At the time of printing, the head block 44 is moved down to the platen roller 46 side to generate heat in a pattern corresponding to the print data, whereby the ink of the ink layer 38B is moved between the head block 44 and the platen roller 46. It is thermally transferred onto the sandwiched printing paper 48.

Here, reference numeral 50 is a paper feed tray as a supply source of the print paper, 52 is a pressing spring for urging the print paper in the paper feed tray 50 toward the pickup roller 54, and the pickup roller 54 is This is for taking out the printing paper in the paper feed tray 50. Reference numerals 56 and 58 denote a grip roller and a pinch roller for feeding the taken out printing paper further. Reference numeral 60 denotes a paper discharge roller for sending the printed print paper to the paper discharge tray 62. The paper discharge tray 62 is for stacking printed print paper.

Reference numeral 64 is a paper detection sensor for detecting the state of conveyance of the printing paper 48, and 66 is a ribbon end sensor for detecting the near-end detection mark 42 provided on the ink ribbon 38. is there.

Next, the operation in such a configuration will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation at the time of printing.
And the ribbon cassette 36 is attached, and the input device 12
When printing is started by operating a print execution key provided in the CPU 10, the CPU 10 first rotates the pickup roller 54 by a predetermined amount by the paper transport unit 32 (step S1).
0). That is, the plurality of printing papers 48 accommodated in the paper feed tray 50 are urged toward the pickup roller 54 by the pressing spring 52, and one of the plurality of printing papers which is closest to the pickup roller 54 is selected. The sheet is pulled out by the frictional force as the pickup roller 54 rotates.

When it is detected that the printing paper 48 has been fed to the position of the grip roller 56 by detecting the leading end of the printing paper 48 conveyed by the paper detection sensor 64 (step S12), the CPU 10 proceeds to step S12. By rotating the grip roller 56 by an amount corresponding to one printing line by the paper transport unit 32, the print paper 48 sandwiched between the grip roller 56 and the pinch roller 58 is further transported to the back (step S14). . The rotation of the grip roller 56 is repeated until the end of the sheet is detected by the sheet detection sensor 64, that is, until the printing sheet 48 is conveyed to the printing start position (step S1).
6).

In this manner, after the printing paper 48 has been sent to the back so that the printing paper 48 does not come off the grip roller 56 once,
The PU 10 causes the head drive unit 30 to lower the head block 44 toward the platen roller 46 (step S18), and prints one line (step S2).
0).

Here, the CPU 10 determines whether or not printing of all the data to be printed on the printing paper has been completed (step S22). The ink ribbon 38 is rotated (step S24), and the paper transport unit 32 rotates the pinch roller 58 in the reverse direction to move the print paper 48 for one line toward the discharge roller 60, that is, the paper discharge tray 62. It is sent (step S26).

At this time, the CPU 10 determines the ribbon end based on whether the ribbon end sensor 66 serving as the end mark detection unit 34 has detected the near end detection mark 42 of the ink ribbon 38 (step S2).
8) If it is not the ribbon end yet, the above step S2
Returning to 0, data printing for the next line is performed.

When the printing on the printing paper 48 is completed without the ribbon being cut, it is determined in step S22 that the printing has been completed, and the paper discharge roller 60 is driven by the paper transport unit 32 to perform printing. The printing paper 48 after the completion is conveyed to the paper discharge tray 62 (step S3).
0), and the process ends.

On the other hand, if the ribbon end sensor 66 detects the near-end detection mark 42 during printing, it is determined in step S28 that the end of the ribbon is reached. In this case, the CPU 10 raises the head block 44 by the head drive unit 30 (step S32), drives the grip roller 56 by the paper transport unit 32, and temporarily returns the printing paper 48 in the middle of printing to the printing start position. (Step S34). Then, the head driving unit 3
0 to lower the head block 44 (step S
36) Then, the same printing (the processing corresponding to steps S20 to S26 is repeated) is restarted (step S38).

That is, if the amount from the near-end detection mark 42 to the end is one sheet, even if the printing on the printing paper is continued after the detection of the near-end detection mark 42, the printing on the printing paper is not performed. Although the printing can be terminated, since the near-end detection mark 42 is on the ink layer 38B, the print density is low at that portion or printing is not performed. Therefore, in the present embodiment, by returning the printing paper once and printing from the beginning,
The light print or the unprinted portion is printed again so as to obtain the normal print density. Therefore, the printing of the portion corresponding to the near-end detection mark 42 can be made regular by simple control such as “return the printing paper” and “reprint from the beginning”.

After the printing is completed, the CPU 10 causes the head driving unit 30 to raise the head block 44 (step S40), and drives a winding motor (not shown) to move the ink ribbon 38 to the winding side 36B of the ink ribbon cassette 36. To the end (step S4
2).

Thereafter, the flow advances to step S30, where the printed printing paper 48 is discharged to the paper discharge tray, and the processing is terminated. Then, the user operates the ink ribbon cassette 36.
To prepare for the next printing. At this time, the removed ink ribbon 38 is stored in step S
By the ribbon winding process at 42, the end detection mark 40 can be seen through an opening 36C provided on the back side of the ink ribbon cassette 36, as shown in FIG. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the user from resetting the used ink ribbon cassette 36 by mistake.

As described above, by providing the near end detection mark 42 on the ink ribbon 38 one or more sheets before the end, even if the ink ribbon 38 is not in the middle of printing, printing can be performed to the end. .

[Second Embodiment] Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.
An embodiment will be described. In the first embodiment,
Near end detection mark 42 with ribbon end sensor 66
Is detected, the paper is returned to the print start position, and
The data for the sheet is reprinted from the beginning. In this case, if the print data is characters, the print data is solid, so that the change in shading does not occur again on the print surface and the new print surface. However, when printing with gradation, such as a photograph, there is a possibility that a difference in shading occurs. Therefore,
In the second embodiment, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 5, by adding a process using a line counter,
Only the paper feed is performed on the printed surface without printing again, and if the printing paper 48 is sent to a new position, only the new data is printed to prevent a change in shading. .

That is, when the printing process is started, the CPU
First, after clearing the line counter in the CPU 10 or the RAM 20 to “0” (step S50), the paper feed unit 32 rotates the pickup roller 54 by a fixed amount (step S10). And
Printing paper 48 conveyed by paper detection sensor 64
When the CPU 10 detects that the printing paper 48 has been fed to the position of the grip roller 56 by detecting the top of the document (step S12), the CPU 10
By rotating the grip roller 56 by an amount corresponding to one line of printing, the printing paper 48 sandwiched between the grip roller 56 and the pinch roller 58 is further conveyed (step S14). The rotation of the grip roller 56 is repeated until the end of the sheet is detected by the sheet detection sensor 64, that is, until the printing sheet 48 is conveyed to the printing start position (step S16).

In this way, after the printing paper 48 has been sent to the back so that the printing paper 48 does not come off the grip roller 56 once,
The PU 10 causes the head driving unit 30 to lower the head block 44 toward the platen roller 46 (step S18), print one line (step S20), and increase the count value of the line counter by one line. (Step S52).

Here, the CPU 10 determines whether or not printing of all the data to be printed on the printing paper has been completed (step S22). The ink ribbon 38 is rotated (step S24), and the paper transport unit 32 rotates the pinch roller 58 in the reverse direction to move the print paper 48 for one line toward the discharge roller 60, that is, the paper discharge tray 62. It is sent (step S26).

At this time, the CPU 10 determines the ribbon end based on whether the ribbon end sensor 66 as the end mark detecting unit 34 has detected the near end detecting mark 42 of the ink ribbon 38 (step S2).
8) If it is not the ribbon end yet, the above step S2
Returning to 0, data printing for the next line is performed.

When the printing on the printing paper 48 is completed without the ribbon being cut, it is determined that the printing is completed in the step S22, and the paper discharge roller 60 is driven by the paper transport unit 32 to perform the printing. The printing paper 48 after the completion is conveyed to the paper discharge tray 62 (step S3).
0), and the process ends.

On the other hand, if the ribbon end sensor 66 detects the near-end detection mark 42 during printing, it is determined in step S28 that the ribbon is at the ribbon end. In this case, the CPU 10 raises the head block 44 by the head drive unit 30 (step S32), drives the grip roller 56 by the paper transport unit 32, and temporarily returns the printing paper 48 in the middle of printing to the printing start position. (Step S34).

Thereafter, the CPU 10 rotates the pinch roller 58 to feed the print paper 48 for one line to the discharge tray 62 by the paper transport unit 32 (step S54), and counts the count value of the line counter. It is lowered by one line (step S56). Then, it is determined whether or not the count value of the line counter has become "0" (step S58).
Return to 54. That is, the paper is fed line by line until the count value of the line counter becomes “0”.

Then, the head block 44 is moved down by the head drive unit 30 (step S36), and the data which has not been printed on the unprinted portion of the printing paper 48, that is, only the new data is printed from step S20 to step S20.
26 is repeated (step S6).
0). After the printing of the new portion is completed, the CPU 10 causes the head drive unit 30 to raise the head block 44 (step S40), and drives a winding motor (not shown) to place the ink ribbon 38 on the winding side 36B of the ink ribbon cassette 36. Rewind until the end (step S4
2) The printed printing paper 48 is discharged to the paper discharge tray (step S30), and the process ends.

As described above, by printing only new data, a change in shading can be prevented. Although the printing apparatuses according to the first and second embodiments have been described as being thermal printers, the present invention is not limited to this. The printing apparatus according to the present invention may be a type wheel printer, an impact dot printer, or the like. In short, any type of printer that uses an ink ribbon (not an endless ink ribbon) may be used.

In the first and second embodiments, the fact that the ink ribbon 38 has been used up to the end is made visible by the end detection mark 40 made of silver tape, so that the ink ribbon cassette 36 is mistaken. However, the printing apparatus main body may detect that the ink ribbon 38 cannot be sent, and notify the user that the ink ribbon 38 has been used up to the end.

[0039]

According to the present invention, when the near-end detection mark of the ink ribbon is detected during printing, the printing paper is sent back to the printing start position, and the printing is started again from the first printing on the printing paper. Therefore, when the ink ribbon runs out during printing, it is possible to avoid wasting one printing sheet during printing.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a printing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2A is a diagram showing a shape of an ink ribbon cassette, and FIGS. 2B and 2C are a plan view and a side view of an ink ribbon housed therein.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of the printing apparatus according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the printing apparatus according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the printing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 CPU 12 input device 14 display device 16 printing unit 18 storage device 20 RAM 22 storage medium 24 communication line 26 video input / output control unit 28 video input / output terminal 30 head drive unit 32 paper transport unit 34 end mark detection unit 36 ink ribbon cassette 38 Ink ribbon 40 End detection mark 42 Near end detection mark

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A printing apparatus for performing arbitrary printing by controlling an ink at an arbitrary position of an ink ribbon and attaching the ink to the paper while relatively feeding an ink ribbon and a printing paper, respectively. An ink ribbon cassette in which an end detection mark is provided near the end of the ink ribbon and a near end detection mark is provided a certain amount before the end near the end, and a mark detection for detecting the near end detection mark of the ink ribbon during printing Means, when the near-end detection mark of the ink ribbon is detected by the mark detection means, print control means for returning the printing paper to the printing start position and starting over from the first printing on the printing paper. Characteristic printing device. 2. The printing control means according to claim 1, wherein when the mark detecting means detects a near-end detection mark of the ink ribbon, the printing is completed by re-printing, and thereafter the ink ribbon in the ink ribbon cassette is wound up to the end. The printing device according to claim 1, wherein 3. The printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the ink ribbon cassette is configured so that the end detection mark is visible when the ink ribbon is wound up to the end.